Tom Brokaw says his cancer is in remission

Tom Brokaw was among those receiving the Medal of Freedom from President Obama in November.

Tom Brokaw was among those receiving the Medal of Freedom from President Obama in November. (Olivier Douliery / Abaca Press)

Associated Press

NBC's Tom Brokaw says his cancer is in remission

Tom Brokaw says his cancer is in remission.

The veteran NBC newsman announced Sunday that, after months of chemotherapy, he soon will begin a drug maintenance program.

Sharing with colleagues what he called “very encouraging news,” Brokaw's internal memo noted that a year ago his future was “more uncertain than I cared to acknowledge.”

Last February, he revealed that six months earlier he had been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a cancer affecting blood cells in the bone marrow, and was undergoing treatment.

He called the past year “a challenge,” but added gratefully that he met it in “world-class hospitals with brilliant physicians.”

The former NBC “Nightly News” anchor, now a special correspondent, has continued to work on projects during his treatment, including participation in last month's election night coverage. Also in November, he took NBC Sports Network viewers on a trip to his native South Dakota for pheasant hunting season.

Brokaw, 74, began his career with NBC News in its Los Angeles bureau in 1966, later serving as its White House correspondent during the Watergate scandal before becoming anchor in 1983. Brian Williams replaced him as anchor in 2004.

Brokaw is the author of several books including “The Greatest Generation,” his celebration of Americans who endured the Great Depression and World War II.